The Los Angeles Dodgers have won 67% of the time since the All-Star break and yet have seen their division lead trimmed by a game and a half. Until recently, it seemed as if the month of August would signal the start of another one of their prolonged, postseason tryout periods. But the San Diego Padres and the Arizona Diamondbacks, the teams that eliminated them from the division series in 2022 and 2023, respectively, have pushed them. Hard.
The Dodgers' two National League West rivals are also the only teams that have fared better over the last seven weeks. Yes, that's right, the three best records in the majors since the All-Star break belong, respectively, to the Padres, D-backs and Dodgers. Dave Roberts, L.A.'s ninth-year manager, has vacillated between whether that qualifies as a negative development or a positive one for his club. On one hand, urgency can take its toll on a roster, forcing teams to overly rely on key players at a time when they would prefer the opposite. On the other, the Dodgers led their division by at least 10 games dating to Aug. 16 in 2023 and July 21 in 2022 -- only to get trounced in their first postseason rounds.
Maybe they could use this type of practice.
"I think that the focus on each night, from each player, coaches, is more enhanced," Roberts said, "and all that stuff just makes you better."
The Dodgers showed some of that over these past few days, winning three of four on the road against the D-backs to finally give themselves some breathing room in the standings. By the end of Labor Day weekend, they led the Padres by five games and the D-backs by six, with FanGraphs giving them a 93.5% chance of winning the division.
Take that for what it's worth.
The D-backs, who came one Tommy Edman bloop single away from potentially splitting their series, have the talent and moxie to take down the mighty Dodgers when it matters most. The Padres do, too. And in a season devoid of world-beaters, one can make a strong case the three best teams in the NL -- heck, the three best teams in the sport -- might reside in the West.
Below is a deeper look at the recent success of the Dodgers, Padres and Diamondbacks -- and what makes them dangerous in October -- with help from scouts, coaches and executives both inside and outside those organizations.